The present disclosure relates generally to surveillance systems, and more particularly to surveillance systems used to facilitate control of a lock of a flight deck door of an aircraft.
To help ensure the safety of aircraft crew and passengers, access to the flight deck of a commercial transport aircraft is typically controlled via a locking mechanism of a flight deck door that separates the flight deck from the cabin of the aircraft. In this way, a flight crew of the aircraft (e.g., pilot(s), copilot(s), or other flight crew members) can secure themselves within the flight deck of the aircraft during flight, thereby preventing access to flight controls and other instrumentation by unauthorized personnel.
In many cases, actuation of the locking mechanism to the flight deck door is electronically controlled via a switch or other interface located within the flight deck and facilitated by a camera system mounted within the cabin of the aircraft outside the flight deck door. For instance, access to the flight deck during flight can typically be requested via an entry request button or other notification system located within the cabin area outside the flight deck door. A pilot, copilot, or other flight crew member within the flight deck, upon notification of the access request, can view video data captured by the camera system to verify whether the requesting party is authorized for access. Authorized personnel can be admitted to the flight deck by unlocking the flight deck door from within the flight deck.
In some cases, an alphanumeric keypad or other interface is located within the cabin area outside the flight deck door to enable unlocking of the flight deck door via a passcode, typically known only by authorized personnel, and often modified between flights. However, to help mitigate a possible risk that the passcode has become known to unauthorized persons, the lock control interface within the flight deck (e.g., a toggle switch) may sometimes include an override control mechanism, enabling flight crew within the flight deck to override the passcode interface and prevent all access to the flight deck through the locked flight deck door. As such, in many cases, ultimate authority of the flight deck door lock and the corresponding access to the flight deck is controlled via an interface located within the flight deck of the aircraft.